Head restraints protect vehicle occupants from suffering serious injury due to sudden movement of the vehicle. Head restraints typically extend upward from the top of a vehicle seat and are anchored within the seat assembly.
While head restraints are necessary in order to insure the safety of passengers, at times the head restraints can present difficulties. For example, head restraints can obstruct a driver's view when looking rearward. Also, if a seat is folded forward to allow a passenger to enter the rear portion of a vehicle, a head restraint may contact an object in front of the seat thus stopping the seat from fully folding down. In vehicles with seats that fold flat into the floor, head restraints must be removed or additional stowage space in the floor of the vehicle must be provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,232 to Kamrath discloses a foldable head restraint that pivots into a stowed position as the seatback is folded forward. The headrest pivots into a stowed position so that the seat back may lay flat when folded. When the seatback is returned to the upright position, the headrest returns to its original extended position.
While foldable head restraints offer advantages over non-foldable head restraints, foldable head restraints are generally more difficult to assemble and therefore relatively more expensive.
The present invention provides an articulating head restraint assembly having a sliding latch that is designed to have components that can be readily changed or modified to enable the assembly to be used for a variety of seat and bun or headrest styles or models.